Why you should listen

The Swiss magician began his performing career as a stage magician and manipulator, winning awards and establishing an international reputation. His interest in computer-generated imageryled him to incorporate video and digital technology in his work — and eventually to the development of a new form of contemporary illusion. The expansion of the Internet and social media provided more opportunities for digital illusions and ways of interacting with audiences and creating magically augmented realities. Tempest is a keen advocate of the open source community, working with artists, writers and technologists to create new experiences and research the practical uses of the technology of illusion. He is a Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab.

What others say

“I don’t know what magic will be like in 50 years, but I suspect that it will look a lot like Marco Tempest.” — HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco

More news and ideas from Marco Tempest

This morning’s Session 4 explored the ways we connect — the pathways our money takes, our communication, our trust, even our intelligence(s). Read on: Trust in your neighbor, but maybe not in your bank. Why is it that, despite being told “don’t get into a car with a stranger” for as long as we can remember, […]

In Marco Tempest’s latest TED Talk, he introduces EDI the robot, which dances, makes jokes, does impressions of Woody Allen and even performs magic tricks. Designed to aid in factory production, EDI also has a screen programmed with facial expressions, begging the question: Why do we build robots with human-like faces and expressions?

Techno-illusionist and veteran speaker Marco Tempest returns to the TED stage with a new friend: EDI (pronounced “Eddie”) the robot. EDI, which stands for Electronic Deceptive Intelligence, is Tempest’s latest techno-aide, a friendly Baxter robot who ponders the difference between artificial and human intelligence. “Robot,” the newly awakened EDI interrupts, was coined in 1921 in […]